Gardaí cannot say at this stage if the rifle was taken as part of a targeted raid to steal firearms or merely by opportunist thieves who discovered the gun after breaking into the house near Moyvane on Thursday evening. A small quantity of cash and some jewellery was also taken.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Listowel are still appealing for information concerning a break-in to a petrol station just outside of the town. A gang of thieves broke into the Amber Petrol Station on the Tarbert road on the night of Friday, November 16, gaining access through the roof. The premises suffered a similar raid in 2008.

The latest raid on the premises did not result in thieves getting away with much and it appears they had been targeting the cigarette machine.